I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I confess my iniquity. I am full of anxiety because of my sin. – Psalm 38:17-18

Probably the most important discipline is the discipline of confession. Was there ever a time you did something wrong that kept nagging at you? It probably felt like a weight that you were constantly dragging around.

When I was young, some of my friends stole some wood for a shack from a neighbor who had used it to terrace a hill for a garden. My friends snuck into his yard, took the wood, and turned the garden terraces into cabin walls. After a few days, the guilt was mounting.

My friend’s mother, asking about something completely unrelated, confronted him and asked, “Ricky, do you have something you want to tell me?” In his mind, he thought she knew everything, and he blurted out the whole story. The next day we lost our cabin, and our neighbor regained his garden terrace.

Guilt can be powerful in our lives. It is good in that it should lead us to recognize our sin, acknowledge it before God, confess it to Him, and receive forgiveness that was paid for on Calvary. But once we confess, God is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

Once we confess sin and receive forgiveness based on Christ’s payment on the cross, our fellowship is restored with God and no amount of our guilt, shame, or penance can make us more right with God. The guilt we feel at that point amounts to a lack of trust in the finished work of Christ.

We feel like we need to do something, to make penance, but the reality is that we can never do enough to justify our sin. Only Christ in His righteousness can do that for us.

That should lead us to worship, not guilt.

Once we genuinely confess, we are restored 100%. Our sin has been stamped with blood-red letters: PAID IN FULL.

Questions for Thought

1. Was there ever a time when you felt guilty of something, and it was a burdensome weight to carry?

2. Do you believe God can fully forgive you for your past sins?

3. When Jesus said, “it is finished” on the cross, what does that mean for your sin?